There's something about a stew of potatoes and kale that is irresistibly earthy. It's a combination that shows up in many cuisines, but to me it is quintessentially Italian. Problem is, most stews take so long to cook. Here's a trick: If you cut the potatoes into walnut-sized pieces, you can cook them in the same pot as the kale, and both will be done about the same time. Drain the potatoes and kale, but not too well.

What if I invited you to dinner, you accepted, and then I said, ". . . and I'm making my favorite dish of kale. . . ." Would you suddenly remember your Aunt Maude was due in town that night? But had I said, ". . . and I'm making a salad of warm purplish peacock kale with shreds of Gruyere cheese, balsamic vinegar and toasted pine nuts," Maudie might be persuaded to stay home. Now, when did you last tuck delicate leaves of summer kale into a tossed salad?

Parsnips: Why is it that people go crazy for carrots but ignore parsnips? They're among the sweetest of the root vegetables, particularly after they've gone through the first frost. With the first deep chill, enzymes in the root begin converting stored starches into the sugar the plant will need come spring -- it's the vegetable equivalent of transferring money from savings into checking.

SPINACH is so passe. Black Tuscan kale is the must-have vegetable of the moment. Also known as Cavolo nero, Lacinato kale, dino kale and dragon's tongue, this singular variety of dark green kale with super-bumpy leaves has been grown for centuries throughout the Mediterranean and is now appearing on at least a dozen Los Angeles restaurant menus, including Grace, De Mori and Cheebo.

Lately I've been thinking about rice and other grains, also pasta and beans. If a lot of your life is spent away from home, these are the foods that can make cooking easy and satisfying. Meat, fish and poultry are basic to our meat-oriented cuisine, but they are expensive and perishable. And if you freeze them, you may forget to thaw them in time for a meal. Beans and grain products, besides being cheaper, are easy to store and simple to cook.

For dinner tonight, look no further than our most recent Culinary SOS from Allison Engel in Los Angeles, who writes: "The chopped kale salad at the Napa Valley Grille in Westwood is the sort of healthy, interesting dish you could eat every day. In fact, a waitress there who recommended it told me she does exactly that. After I ordered it a few times, I saw her point. Can you pry the recipe loose from the restaurant?" Chopped kale and romaine are tossed with quinoa, almonds, raisins and parmesan cheese, with a bright lemon vinaigrette added just before serving.